Ethan David got the shutout for the Vipers in a 4-0 road win over Salmon Arm Saturday. (Photo credit: Vernon Vipers)

By Pete McIntyre

junior hockey

Vipers slither into third place in BCHL with road wins

Nov 19, 2023 | 7:45 AM

The road was a friendly place for the Vernon Vipers this weekend.

The Snakes went two-for-two away from Kal Tire Place, doubling the Merritt Centennials 4-2 Friday night at the Nicola Valley Memorial Arena and then blanking the Salmon Arm Silverbacks 4-0 Saturday night before 1,535 fans at the Shaw Centre.

Ethan David, who in his third season for the Vipers, was named the first star on Saturday, making 41 saves for his second shutout of the BC Hockey League season.

“We put out a great effort tonight and got the result we deserved,” David told vernonvipers.com. “It’s always great to beat the Silverbacks in their arena and our group is tremendously excited for the upcoming home stand.”

The goals came from Isaac Tremblay, Georgios Stavrianeas, Adam Csabi and Erik Pastro shorthanded, his 10th of the season.

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“We didn’t have our best game against Salmon Arm last week [4-0 loss] and we wanted to respond with a better performance,” Vipers assistant coach Lukas Lomicky said. “We set ourselves up for success managing the puck better and good execution on special teams, which had a big impact on the game. It was great to see the guys playing as a team with a shorter bench, supported by unbelievable play from Ethan David.”

On Friday, Pastro, a Vernon native, scored a goal and added an assist in the win over the Cents before a crowd of 659, while David made 19 saves for the win in net

The Vipers are now 14-5-0-0, good enough for third place overall in the BCHL, trailing only the Surrey Eagles and Penticton Vees.

The Snakes open a four game home stand Friday, Nov. 24 against Merritt and host Penticton on Nov. 25.

In the KIJHL, the North Okanagan Knights fell 3-2 to the Grand Forks Border Bruins on Friday and upset the league-leading Sicamous Eagles 7-5 on Saturday night in Armstrong, getting 3 goals from Carter Will. The Knights improved their record to 4-12-0-3.